Legislating about Unhealthy Food: A Millian Approach

Tackling food-related health conditions is becoming one of the most pressing issues in the policy agendas of western liberal democratic governments. In this article, I intend to illustrate what the liberal philosopher John Stuart Mill would have said about legislation on unhealthy food and I focus especially on the arguments advanced by Mill in his classic essay On Liberty ([1859] 2006). Mill is normally considered as the archetype of liberal anti-paternalism and his ideas are often invoked by those who oppose state paternalism, including those who reject legislation that restricts the consumption of unhealthy food. Furthermore, his views have been applied to related policy areas such as alcohol minimum pricing (Saunders 2013) and genetically modified food (Holtug 2001). My analysis proceeds as follows. First, I show that Mill’s account warrants some restrictions on food advertising and justifies various forms of food labelling. Second, I assess whether and to what extent Mill’s ‘harm principle’ justifies social and legal non-paternalistic penalties against unhealthy eaters who are guilty of other-regarding harm. Finally, I show that Mill’s account warrants taxing unhealthy foods, thus restricting the freedom of both responsible and irresponsible eaters and de facto justifying what I call ‘secondary paternalism’.

Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, Revised and Expanded Edition

A review of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition, and Health, Revised and Expanded Edition.

Food advertisements during children's television programming in 2007: Comparison with ads in 1994 and the 2005 dietary recommendations

Childhood overweight and obesity are two major public health problems that are of economic and medical concern in the world today (Lobstein, Baur, & Uauy, 2004). Overweight conditions in childhood are important because they are widely prevalent, serious, and carry lifetime consequences for health and well being (Lobstein et al., 2004). Several studies have shown an association between television viewing and obesity in all age groups (Caroli, Argentieri, Cardone, & Masi, 2004; Harper, 2006; Vandewater & Huang, 2006; Wiecha et al., 2006). One mechanism that potentially links television viewing to childhood obesity is food advertising (Story, 2003). ^ The purpose of this study was to examine the types of foods advertised on children's television programming and to determine if there have been any changes in the number and types of commercials over the last 13 years. In addition, the food content of the advertisements was compared to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines to determine if the foods targeted were consistent with the current recommendations. Finally, each television network was analyzed individually to determine any differences between advertising on cable and regular programming. ^ A descriptive analysis was conducted on the most commonly advertised commercials during children's television programming on Saturday morning from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. A total of 10 major television networks were viewed on three different Saturday mornings during June and July 2007. Commercial advertising accounted for approximately 19% of children's total viewing time. Of the 3,185 commercials, 28.5% were for foods, 67.7% were for non-food items, and 3.8% were PSAs. On average, there were 30 commercial advertisements and PSAs per hour, of which approximately nine were for food. ^ Of the 907 food advertisements, 72.0% were for foods classified in the fats, oils, and sugar group. The next largest group (17.3%) was for restaurant food of which 15.3% were for unhealthy/fast food restaurant fare. The most frequently advertised food product on Saturday morning television was regular cereal, accounting for 43.9% of all food advertisements. ^ Cable and regular programming stations varied slightly in the amount, length, and category of commercials. Cable television had about 50% less commercials and PSAs (1098) than regular programming (2087), but only had approximately 150 minutes less total commercial and PSA time; therefore, cable, in general, had longer commercials than regular programming. Overall, cable programming had more advertisements encouraging increased physical activity and positive nutrition behavior with less commercials focusing on the fats, oils, and sugar groups, compared to regular programming. ^ During the last 13 years, food advertisements have not improved, despite the recent IOM report on marketing foods to children (Institute of Medicine-Committee on Food Marketing and the Diets of Children and Youth, 2005), although the frequency of food advertisements has improved slightly. Children are now viewing an average of one food advertisement every 7 minutes, compared to one food advertisement every 5 minutes in 1994 (Kotz & Story, 1994). Therefore, manufacturers are putting a greater emphasis on advertising other products to children. Despite the recent attention to the issue of marketing unhealthy foods to children through television advertisements, not much progress has been noted since 1994. Further advocacy and regulatory issues concerning the content of advertisements during Saturday morning TV need to be explored. ^

Globesity: Food marketing to children in Asia-Pacific A systematic review

Food advertising and promotion to children has been identified as one possible contributing factor to the childhood obesity pandemic. Food marketing to children in "western" society consists mainly of foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS), such as pre-sugared breakfast cereals; sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs); confectionary; savory snacks; and fast food. Of these heavily marketed items consumption of, SSBs, savory snacks and fast foods have been found to contribute to the childhood obesity pandemic. A systematic review was conducted to determine what types of products are being promoted and what types of techniques food marketers are using to promote these foods throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The review of current literature, while not abundant, clearly showed marketing styles and content similar to those in western countries were being employed in the Asia-Pacific. Advertisements in this geographic region often took on a local flair to make them more identifiable to children and adolescents in their respective regions and countries, due to the numerous cultural and traditional differences. Children in these developing parts of the world may be just as, if not more, susceptible to these advertising techniques than their counterparts in the west.^

Gender portrayals in food commercials: a content analysis of Spanish television advertisements

Content analysis of media messages from a gender perspective has a long tradition. In the particular field of advertising, most of the researches have been focused on generic samples of advertisements or on the advertising traditionally associated to a masculine or a feminine audience. However, few authors have analyzed gender contents in food advertising, in spite of the close relationship between gender structures and the social processes of food purchase and preparation. Thus, gender representations in food advertising broadcast in Spanish television are analyzed in this article. The main results obtained show clear gender differences. For example, there is a clear predominance of masculine voices over and a more balanced situation regarding protagonists. Besides, feminine protagonists are more frequently located indoors, portrayed as attractive women and connected to advertising claims related to beauty or to the healthy qualities of the product.

Análise do processo de formulação de uma proposta de regulamentação de propagandas de alimentos: um estudo de caso

O consumo de alimentos processados tem crescido mundialmente e esse aumento tem sido relacionado em parte, pelas estratégias de marketing utilizadas pelas indústrias alimentícias que tem como objetivo aumentar as vendas e expandir o mercado consumidor. Segundo documento Recomendações da Consulta de Especialistas da Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde sobre a Promoção e a Publicidade de Alimentos e Bebidas Não Alcoólicas para Crianças nas Américas, a publicidade televisiva é a forma mais utilizada de marketing de alimentos para crianças e está associada a maior preferência e aumentos nos pedidos de compra de alimentos e bebidas com elevado teor de gordura, açúcar e sal. No âmbito da discussão mais recente sobre a possível influência da propaganda de alimentos na epidemia mundial de obesidade e doenças crônicas, o governo brasileiro, por meio da Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA), formulou uma proposta de Regulamento Técnico que normatiza os termos das atividades publicitárias e que se concretizou na Resolução da Diretoria Colegiada n 24 de 2010 (RDC24/2010). Logo após sua publicação, grupos de interesse empresarial entraram na justiça e obtiveram diversas liminares que suspenderam a aplicação da RDC 24/2010 com base em parecer contrário da Advocacia Geral da União (AGU). O debate sobre ações regulatórias no campo da alimentação e nutrição como estratégia de controle e prevenção da obesidade envolve diversos atores sociais e opiniões bastante distintas e antagônicas, principalmente quando se trata dos argumentos do grupo de indivíduos que acredita na regulamentação da publicidade como uma forma de promover a saúde versus os argumentos contrários dos setores econômicos ligados ao tema a ser regulado. Neste sentido, este trabalho teve a intenção de descrever como e por que, neste processo, algumas práticas se estabeleceram no cotidiano das instituições e identificar os embates, argumentos e conflitos de interesses que apareceram nas discussões a respeito da formulação da resolução. Para isso, foi feita, primeiramente, análise documental de todo o processo de formulação, através de arquivos institucionais, documentos, pareceres, relatórios, entre outros. Posteriormente, foram identificados e caracterizados os sujeitos que participaram do processo e em seguida, realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas com atores chaves. Foram encontradas duas teses centrais no debate em torno da formulação da resolução: a primeira, se o Estado deve estabelecer uma regulamentação sobre publicidade de alimentos e a segunda diz respeito à competência legal da ANVISA em exercer o papel regulador sobre a propaganda de alimentos. As disputas em torno destas duas teses e os argumentos que se apresentaram para defendê-las são evidentemente incomensuráveis entre si, não havendo esperança de acordo entre as partes. O caso descrito elegeu a ANVISA como o território da disputa e a aparente maioria no jogo democrático desta arena mostrou-se ineficaz diante da captura pelo questionamento da pertinência desta Agência para função de regular a publicidade de alimentos.

Saturday Morning Television Advertisements Aired on English and Spanish Language Networks along the Texas-Mexico Border

Objectives: The aim of this content analysis study is to characterize the TV advertisements aired to an at-risk child population along the Texas-Mexico border. Methods: We characterized the early Saturday morning TV advertisements aired by three broadcast network categories (U.S. English language, U.S. Spanish language, and Mexican Spanish language) in Spring 2010. The number, type (food related vs. non-food related), target audience, and persuasion tactics used were recorded. Advertised foods, based on nutrition content, were categorized as meeting or not meeting current dietary guidelines. Results: Most commercials were non-food related (82.7%, 397 of 480). The majority of the prepared foods (e.g., cereals, snacks, and drinks) advertised did not meet the current U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Additionally, nutrition content information was not available for many of the foods advertised on the Mexican Spanish language broadcast network category. Conclusions: For U.S. children at risk for obesity along the Texas-Mexico border exposure to TV food advertisements may result in the continuation of sedentary behavior as well as an increased consumption of foods of poor nutritional quality. An international regulatory effort to monitor and enforce the reduction of child-oriented food advertising is needed. Editors' Note: This article was submitted in response to the first issue of the Journal of Applied Research on Children: Latino Children.

Representaciones de género en la publicidad de alimentos: un análisis de contenido

El análisis de contenido del mensaje mediático desde una perspectiva de género cuenta ya con una abundante bibliografía. En el caso de la publicidad, gran parte de los estudios realizados se han centrado en muestras genéricas de contenidos publicitarios o en aquella publicidad tradicionalmente asociada a uno u otro género. Sin embargo, pocos autores han analizado los contenidos de género de la publicidad relativa a productos de alimentación, a pesar de la estrecha relación entre estructuras de género y los procesos sociales de compra y preparación de alimentos. En este ámbito se sitúa, precisamente, nuestra investigación. Los principales resultados obtenidos muestran claras diferencias de género en las piezas publicitarias: tanto en términos de presencia cuantitativa como en la asignación de determinadas características.

Nutrition and health claims in products directed at children via television in Spain in 2012

Objective: To describe the use of nutrition and health claims in products directed at children via television in Spain and to analyse their nutrient profile. Methods: A cross-sectional study of television food advertisements over 7 days in five Spanish television channels popular among children. The products were classified as core, non-core or miscellaneous, and as either healthy or less healthy, according to the United Kingdom Nutrient Profile Model. We registered all claims contained on the product (packaging and labelling) and its advertisement. We calculated the frequency distributions of health and nutrition claims. Results: During the 420 hours of broadcasting, 169 food products were identified, 28.5% in the dairy group and 60.9% in the non-core category. A total of 53.3% of products contained nutrition claims and 26.6% contained health claims; 62.2% of the products with claims were less healthy. Low-fat dairy products were the food category containing the highest percentage of health and nutrition claims. Conclusion: Over half of all food products marketed to children via television in Spain made some type of nutrition or health claim. Most of these products were less healthy, which could mislead Spanish consumers.

Prevalencia y factores asociados al consumo de bebidas azucaradas en escolares de 9 a 17 años de Bogotá, Colombia: Estudio FUPRECOL

Objetivo: Determinar la prevalencia y los factores asociados al consumo de bebidas azucaradas en una población escolar de Bogotá, Colombia, pertenecientes al estudio FUPRECOL. Métodos: Estudio descriptivo y transversal, realizado en 8136 niños y adolescentes en edad escolar entre 9 y 17 años de Bogotá, Colombia. El peso, la estatura, el índice de masa corporal (IMC), la circunferencia de cintura y el porcentaje de grasa, se recogieron como marcadores antropométricos y de composición corporal. El consumo de bebidas azucaradas (bebidas carbonatadas, jugos ultra-procesados y/o Té), y los factores asociados (sexo, edad, obesidad abdominal, clasificación del IMC, grado de estudios de la madre/padre, y nivel nutricional por cuestionario “Krece plus”), se recogieron por encuesta estructurada. Se establecieron asociaciones mediante la construcción de modelos de regresión logística simple. Resultados: De la población general, el 58,4% eran mujeres. En función al sexo, los varones acusaron la mayor ingesta de “bebidas carbonatadas” con una frecuencia semanal y diaria de 70,9% y 21,0%, respectivamente, seguido de “jugos ultra- procesados” (64,4% semanal vs. 11,3% diario). En ambos sexos, la prevalencia de obesidad abdominal fue mayor en los escolares que respondieron consumir diariamente “bebidas carbonatadas” (23,3%), “jugos ultra-procesados” (13,2%) y “bebidas Té” (9,7%). La edad, el grado de educación de los padres y el nivel nutricional, se asociaron como factores predisponentes al consumo diario de “bebidas carbonatadas”. Conclusión: El consumo de bebidas azucaradas cambia por los factores analizados. Se recomiendan intervenciones integrales en las que estén involucrados los componentes nutricional y educativo entre los niños y adolescentes de Bogotá, Colombia.

The effect of consumer risk perceptions and information search on willingness to buy GM food products: A cross cultural analysis

This paper seeks to address the widespread call in the literature for the cross-cultural examination ( and validation) of accepted concepts within consumer behaviour, such as consumer risk perceptions and information search. The findings of the study provide support for a number of accepted relationships, whilst identifying distinct cross cultural differences in external information search and willingness to buy genetically modified (GM) food products by consumers.

Service quality in the Malaysian fast food industry : an examination using DINESERV

This study addresses calls in the literature for the external validation of Western-based marketing concepts and theory in the East. Using DINESERV, the relationships between service quality, overall service quality perceptions, customer satisfaction, and repurchase intentions in the Malaysian fast food industry are examined. A questionnaire was administered to Malaysian fast food consumers at a large university, resulting in findings that support the five-dimensional nature of DINESERV and three of four proposed hypotheses. This study contributes to knowledge of service quality in developing countries and is the first to examine DINESERV in the Malaysian fast food industry.

A cross cultural examination of consumer behaviour and GM food products : results from Australian and South Korean female consumers

The call for the cross cultural examination and validation of commonly accepted relationships within consumer behaviour is strengthening. Consequently, this paper seeks to address this call by examining consumer risk perceptions, reliance on country of origin information and willingness to buy Genetically Modified (GM) food products on Australian and South Korean consumers. Findings indicate a number of cross cultural similarities and differences that have both theoretical and practical implications.

Willingness to buy GM food products : the role of uncertainty orientation, consumer risk perceptions and information search in consumers from Australia

Genetically modified (GM) food products are the source of much controversy and in the context of consumer behaviour, the way in which consumers perceive such food products is of paramount importance both theoretically and practically. Despite this, relatively little research has focused on GM food products from a consumer perspective, and as such, this study seeks to better understand what effects consumer willingness to buy GM food products in Australian consumers.